Katherine McNamara

I have hand-stitched little characters and objects on and around the subject of my work: my niece. A child’s imagination is the breath and innocence of life. I am celebrating the freedom that a child has to play off their imagination and conceived reality. I challenge the viewer to renew their present life with a burst of innocent and childish thoughts and scenarios. Return to your childhood, remember the days when ‘impossible’ was never found within your vocabulary and weave a little foolishness into your day – it does not have to be logical to make you smile.

Collection connections

Research Louise Weaver’s body of work and respond to her use of humour and satire. Consider other Australian artists from the 1980s until today. Does Weaver’s art practice reflect the art theories of the time?

With their use of crocheted, stitched and woven elements, Weaver and McNamara add an element of the domestic or the feminine. The definition of ‘craft’ and ‘art’ are blurred to portray the artist’s response to the world. Why do you think some contemporary artists explore traditional techniques in artmaking?